THE WEST SHORE.
0
body wuz found in a small lake on bis own grounds.
They gin out 'twuz accidental drowning but, 'twiit
you-uns an' me, he got wind o ther plans, an1 'scaped
em by jumpin' in th' lake. Et be cur'us how smart
crazy folks kin be ! Arter a while the family lawyer
come oyer an' scle th' ranch, stocked jes' es 'twas, to
a party o' New Yorkers. Then Zeke an' me cut loose
frum our moorin's, drifted up inter these )er moun
ting an' 'ere we be yit. Now Zeke-" and in a rich
bass, of great volume and sweetness, he struck off
with
" Come on my partner in distress,
My comrade in this wilderness."
The dog slowly rose, came to his master and laid
his head across his knees. The mountaineer reached
down and drew from out the shaggy hair a small
gold locket attached to a slender chain. He touched
the spring, and said
" Thar be Vi'let's pictur. She wuz puttin' it
roun' his neck thet mornin'," with a significant look
toward the dog.
" Thet be all, stranger."
The fall exhibition opened with great splendor.
The subjects treated were widely different, and han
dled with admirable nerve. Strong motif, breadth
and unity of scope, and a vivid, but delicate, coloriDg,
were the points of excellence possessed, in a more or
less degree, by all of them. To sum up the matter in
a nut shell, the unanimous judgment of the best crit
ics, and the vast multitudes that daily thronged the
spacious gallery, pronounced it to be the finest ama
teur collection ever exhibited in San Francisco.
The first place was awarded to a picture of tho
(jcnre class. It was rather a series of picture, which
formed a wheel within a wheel, so to speak, since
each separate part was so nicely adjusted, tho one on
the other, that each was essential to the perfect whole.
While possessing the points of excellence already
mentioned, it was remarkable for two things not al
ways found, even in the old masters.
The one an intense realism that centered upon
a golden-haired child and a great, shaggy dog ; p.
subtle, magnetic power, infinitely tender, potentially
supreme, divinely enthused, that finds fittest expres
sion in the words of the inspired penman :
And he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and
man became a living soul.
The other, a nobility of thought, a sublimity of
conception, that unfolded, like a grand panorama, tho
passionate sweep of anguish, remorse, repentenco and
atonement, with swift and masterful effect Ruskin,
the divine interpreter of art, says :
Tho picture which has the nobler and more numerous
ideas, however awkwardly expressed, is a greater and better
picture than that which has tho less noblo and less numerous
ideas, however beautifully expressed.
The picture was labeled " A Dog's Repentenco,"
and in tho lower right hand corner wero traced, in
gilt letters, tho artist's initials. Paul Renfrow had
found his inspiration, and, painting con amorc, had
achieved success, which is only another namo for
fame. Halting fortune would soon bo limping in his
wake. Toward the closo of tho exhibition, tho Morn
ing Xcics announced a notable arrival tho Lady
Margaret Fanshawe, of Lambeth Place, Yorkshire
She was accompanied by her neice, Miss Violet Brock
ton, heiress of Brockton Hall, and they had takon
apartments at " The Palaco " for tho winter. So tho
Ncies stated it in a positive, matter-of-fact fashion,
although tho Lady Margaret hersolf, when inter
viewed on the subject, could give no positivo assur
ance that their visit would bo prolonged later than a
few weeks. Her Ladyship and her neico wero travel
ing for pleasure, and she would bo wholly guided by
Miss Brockton's wishes in tho matter. Lion-scckcrs
were at onco on their trail, and they wero soon in a
mazy whirl of social distraction.
It so happened ono morning (elso I shudder to
think that tho only legitimate and satisfactory ending
to this story might never havo been attnined), that,
in order to secure a quiet forenoon to themselves,
Miss Brockton suggested a drivo to tho exhibition, of
which they had heard unstinted praise.
They arrived early so early that tho gallery was
.almost deserted. Tho Lady Margaret, not being, by
nature or education, artistically inclined, proceeded
at once to deposit her heavy English avordupois ujx)n
a central divan, and, adjusting her jeweled lorgnette
to a convenient altitud, bebtowed a mild and half
tolerant sweep of her eyelids uxm tho bits of bright
ness within her limited horizon.
" Violet, my dear ; inero daubs, I daro say I Thcso
Americans, my dear i "
What elso Her Ladyship was preparing to pour
into tho ears of her neice, will probably never bo
known, for that young lady was far beyond tho rench
of her voice, and utterly absorbed in tho contempla
tion of thoso self-samo " mero daubs." Tho girl was
an enthusiast in art, which alien trait wan by no
means approved by tho Lady Margaret, sinco sho waa
aware of no such visionary proclivities anywhere in
a long lino of respectable ancestors. But Miss Brock
ton went on tho even tenor of her way, catching tho
subtle beauty of opening tlowers, shimmering cloud
or sapphire sky.
And now, on this particular morning, her fine
spirit went out to meet and embrace, all that waa tru-